Wichita mayor getting racist emails after transgender proclamation controversy

Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said in a recent Facebook post that she’s receiving hateful emails since not presenting a proclamation, which was missing her digital signature line, that recognized Transgender Day of Visibility last month.

In the post, Wu said the emails are due to the “media’s misreporting” on how she handled the proclamation.

One email used a racial slur for Asian people.

Another email from the same account threatened the mayor, who is Asian American, with deportation, according to a screenshot posted on her account.

The mayor read the same email during Tuesday’s city council meeting while a speaker during the public agenda pushed back against a censure resolution for Republican council member Becky Tuttle.

That email is the only one shared by the mayor publicly. The email itself did not cite any media reporting on the proclamation.

What did Wu’s Facebook post say?

In the post on her account, Wu also said she’s been targeted in social media posts and “in-person confrontations.”

In the same post, Wu shared an email from a supporter that said the proclamation was “unneeded.”

“Gay community members would benefit most if elected leaders would focus on important issues,” part of the email reads.

The city’s charter ordinance explains that the mayor has several duties, including presiding over council meetings and signing all resolutions and proclamations.

Proclamations are requested by residents and then issued during council meetings if approved by the council.

At a news conference Thursday, Wu repeatedly declined to comment “at this time” about her Facebook post.

Other threats against Wichita mayors

Wu has repeatedly insisted the media “misreported” how she handled issuing the proclamation, saying she didn’t “refuse” or “decline” to sign it. Instead, she blamed her signature line being removed as a “clerical error.”

The mayor and city staff have yet to go back and add in her signature line, which includes her electronic signature.

The LGBT Chamber of Commerce, which requested the proclamation, called on the mayor to fix the error in a statement to the Eagle.

“Wichitans know inclusion is smart business, and we would welcome the Mayor taking accountability and correcting her mistake,” the chamber’s founder, Chris Pumpelly, wrote in a message to the Eagle. “It’s past time we put this embarrassing matter to rest and continue our work growing a more dynamic, inclusive local economy.”

This is not the first time Wichita’s mayor has received threats while in office.

Former Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple, who lost reelection to Wu, received death threats during the COVID-19 pandemic over the city’s mask mandate.

One threat named the mayor as a “viable target for elimination” and said Whipple “has a date with the hangman.”

This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 5:22 PM.